3rd edition
Click to read a sample
Just over one hundred years have passed since the common grace controversy that rocked the Reformed church world of 1924–1925. Yet, The Protestant Reformed Churches in America remains the single most comprehensive published history of that controversy. In order to preserve that history, the effects of which are still felt in the Reformed church world today, the RFPA is making this book available to the public once again—just in time for the 100th anniversary celebration of the Protestant Reformed Churches.
This 3rd edition will introduce a new generation of readers to Herman Hoeksema's deeply personal narrative as it was presented in 1947. With this publication, the RFPA reiterates the author’s wish that it “may, under God’s blessing, continue to [provide instruction]...in the history and specific doctrinal basis of the Protestant Reformed Churches.”
This attractive new edition includes additional pictures and foreign language translations, historical footnotes and citations, and updated Scriptural and topical indexes.
What others are saying:
"This controversy wasn't just about theological terminology, but it reflected deeper questions about God's disposition toward the non-elect, the nature of depravity, and how Christians should engage with culture, what it means to maintain the antithesis between believer and unbeliever...This debate continues to shape Reformed discussions today." - MARSCAST, Ep. 260: The Common Grace Controversy of 1924. (Learn more about the common grace controversy that inspired the publication of The Protestant Reformed Churches in America by listening to this 3-part series on common grace from the official podcast of Mid-America Reformed Seminary.)
"The 1924 synod of the Christian Reformed Church, meeting in Kalamazoo, Michigan, from June 18 to July 8, was one of the defining moments in the denomination's history. Two years after another CRC synod had deposed Calvin Seminary Professor Ralph Janssen for his allegedly higher-critical approach to Scripture, the 1924 synod affirmed the doctrine that had been at the heart of Janssen's defense, the doctrine of common grace...The synod of Kalamazoo took place...years ago; its protagonists are now with the Lord. We cannot change history; not even with heartfelt apologies. However, we can and must do our best to understand those who are so close to us and yet so far...We must strive to understand so that we can be fair and just as well as sympathetic today." - John Bolt, "Common Grace and the Christian Reformed Synod of Kalamazoo (1924)," Calvin Theological Journal
Read a review from David J. Engelsma (Protestant Reformed Theological Journal).
Herman Hoeksema (HH) (1886-1965) was ordained into the ministry in the Christian Reformed Church in 1915. He is considered one of the founding "fathers" of the Protestant Reformed Churches in America. He taught in the Seminary of the Protestant Reformed Churches from its founding and until his retirement in 1964.
- 472 pages
- hardcover
- ISBN 978-1-959515-45-6
- Release date: May 30, 2025
eBook version available